00:21 S1
On Vision Australia, you're listening to the Seeing Eye Dog show with me, your host, Harriet Moffatt. On this episode, we're wrapping up our busy July with guest Thayana Mubila, who is a seeing eye dog handler to Shaylah and an ambassador from the Petbarn Foundation. Seeing its appeal campaign, then I'll be joined by Auntie Julianne Axford, a Wurundjeri, Woiwurrung elder, whose grandkids Bella and Levi named native puppies in 2023. Auntie Julianne is joining us to talk about the meaning and significance of NAIDOC week, which in 2024 was the 7th of July to the 14th of July. Then I'm going to play the names of the 2023 Natick name puppies as a repeat to remind us of those names chosen by Auntie Julianne's family. And then the announcement for the 2024 NAIDOC name. Puppies.
And now I'm going to kick off this show with my interview with single handler Thayana about her life and her partnership with seeing eye dog Shayla. Hope you enjoy. Hi Thayana, thank you for joining me on the show today.
01:27 S2
Thank you for having me on the show.
01:29 S1
Could you please start off by introducing yourself?
01:31 S2
My name is Thayana. I come from Zambia. I was born in Ivory Coast. I moved to Perth in 2015 to pursue my education. I'm currently studying a Bachelor of Social Work at Curtin University. I am one of five siblings, so I'm the fourth born in the family. I lost my vision in 2011 2012 due to retinal detachments in both eyes, so my retina detached completely in my left eye and in my right eye were able to save it through multiple surgeries. And I'm currently set at 10% remaining vision. And I enjoy things like reading. I've recently just gotten into audiobooks, so I enjoy audiobooks. I enjoy tandem bike cycling, I enjoy cooking, baking, and, you know, just hanging out with friends and, you know, just having a good time, basically. I also love drinking coffee.
02:32 S1
Oh yeah! In that case, are you in the wrong city of Australia for that? Are you, or is the Perth Coffee pretty good? Because I mean, Melbourne is like the, you know, Melbourne is like the Coffee City.
02:42 S2
You know what, I don't know, I haven't been to Melbourne - is, it's a place where I actually do want to go and the trip might be coming soon, but I don't know, I would have to taste the coffee in Melbourne to see. But there are some places in Perth that do do pretty good coffee, although not all of them. But yeah, I have found some places where I can get pretty good coffee. Good coffee.
03:06 S1
Okay, well well, I mean, whenever you come to Melbourne, even just around Seeing Eye worksite, there's lots of places. So, yeah, you're seeing, I can definitely show you to the best coffee spots. It's what we do in Melbourne. It's the one thing that we do. It's drink a flat white.
03:19 S2
Oh, wow. Definitely. Anytime I come there, I'll definitely call up and say, Hey, I'm here, let me know. Yeah.
03:28 S1
So you have a seeing eye dog called Shaylah. Could you please tell us a bit about Shayla?
03:34 S2
Yes I can. Her name is Shaylah. She's a female black lab. She's two years old. Shayla is a loving dog. She's super adorable, super kind. You know, she loves to work. She loves to, you know her. You can see the enthusiasm in her when she when she's at work, when she has the harness on. She loves finding places, finding doors, finding seats. You know, she just enjoys finding things. Like, anytime I tell her, she'll find this, then, you know, you see her, like, perking up, you know, with a with a pep in her step and just walking around, she's like, Oh, is it this? Is it this. But as well, when she is tired, she does let me know. She does let me know when she's tired.
So I've noticed that she's a dog that doesn't like repetition. So she likes... new stuff. Having new things. Yeah. New stuff to to do and new new routes to take as well. She loves a challenge, so do I. So we always, you know, find a find ways to challenge ourselves, to take ourselves to new routes and new places that we've never been. Or at least we've been with people. But not just the both of us. Yeah. So she's she's just really adorable, really kind. She she loves cuddles, you know, and... she's the type of dog that doesn't like to be by herself. She likes to be in the... in places with other people. So she'll always come and sit by my feet. But when I have friends and family members over, she completely ignores me.
05:08 S1
Oh, how rude. She's like, right? But it maybe that's because she likes the new stuff. She's like, Oh, I can spend time with these guys because they leave and they go out. Yeah.
05:19 S2
Yeah, maybe, maybe that, maybe that's the case. But yes, whenever there are new, when whenever there are people over. And even if she's met these people so many times, she's like, well, I don't need you anymore. I'm going to go hang out with this person. And then when it's time for her food, then she comes back to me. So I'm like, Yeah, right. You're always going to come back.
05:40 S1
They do say dogs have unconditional love, but sometimes you just think, I don't know, man. I think there's a bit of like having to purchase it at times with a bit of...
05:48 S2
Yeah, yeah, that's so true. Yeah.
05:51 S1
But you kind of said before we started recording, you think she's pretty, pretty well matched to you. So yes she is. You're quite similar in some ways, I think.
06:00 S2
I think the ways that I'm similar to her is the stubbornness. So she is... stubborn and she will, like I said, she, when he's tired, she does let me know. So if she's tired of... and she also doesn't like repetition. So if she's tired of repeating a route all the time, she'll literally just sit down and be like, Yep, I'm not moving. I'm done working... the way I'm similar in that way, when I don't want to do something, I just won't do it right. You know, I would say that we are similar in in those ways and as well, sleeping. We enjoy sleeping. That's another way that we're both similar. We enjoy sleeping. We enjoy having a full eight hour day. We enjoy having eight hours of sleep.
06:45 S1
I mean, it's important. It's important for a working girl. It's important for a uni student, like most.
06:51 S2
It is, it is.
06:54 S1
So she is your first thing?
06:55 S2
She's my first seeing eye dog. Yes. That's correct.
06:57 S1
And why did you decide to become a handler?
07:00 S2
I decided to become a handler because I just wanted my independence back. I lost my vision in 2011-2012, and since then, I wasn't even using a cane. I had enough vision to get myself, you know, on public transport and stuff like that and get myself to places, you know, obviously asking people in the public for help and stuff like that. But most times I wasn't confident to get myself places. I wasn't confident to leave my house by myself, you know? So it resulted into me depending on friends and family members to take me places to, you know, even just the simple things as taking me grocery shopping. I needed someone by my side. I needed to be with someone you know, to relate to. Places I could go to was my sister's house and the school at that time, you know.
So when I came back to Perth in 2022, because I left in 2018 for an eye surgery, when I came back to Perth in 2022, I knew that coming back to Perth, I wanted to come back. I wanted to come back different. I wanted to come because in 2019, I accepted my disability, right? I accepted that, OK, I'm blind and this is what it is, right? And I need to start living my life after this point. So when I came back in 2022, I knew that I wanted to come back different. I didn't want to come back, you know, doing the same things that I was doing, like depending on people and not not living my life, you know? So when I came to Perth, I started to explore the prospects of getting a seeing eye dog.
And that's when I then found out about Vision Australia Seeing Eye Dogs and I put up an application. So essentially I just wanted my independence back and my freedom back. I wanted to go places that I particularly wanted to go to, and not that I was going to places because the person I was with wanted to go there, you know.
08:54 S1
So what are the kind of outings that you guys do together? What's kind of helpful that she does for you?
09:02 S2
So first, firstly, she takes me from point A to point B in a much simpler way. So our routes, my routes have become a lot simpler. They become a lot easier. They become a lot faster as well. You know, when I compare going to places with a dog and going with a cane, it's a lot different. You know, with the cane, the cane will find the obstacle for you, right? But then you have to know, like, Oh, do I need to move? How far do I need to move on the left? How far do I need to move on the right to avoid the obstacle? And with the dog, the dog will just go by and just, you know, smoothly avoid the obstacle and keep keep it moving. You know, most of the times you don't even know that the dog took you around an obstacle, you know, and the dog will help you find doors, will help you find seats and all that stuff.
And also just taking myself out, like, you know, being out and about, like even going for coffee, you know, sometimes with, with the cane, I don't... remember taking myself to have coffees. I don't remember going into the shopping centres and walking around in the shopping centres. I'll never walk around in a shopping centre with just my cane. I'll always, always have to have someone with me. But with Shayla, I can do that now, you know? I can go take myself to the shops. You know, we can walk around inside the shops. We can get from one end of the shopping centre to the other. It's really exciting that I'm able to do that now. And it's really fun being, you know, knowing that I'm able to do that now.
10:35 S1
So you guys are quite recent team. How long have you been working together?
10:40 S2
I'd say now, six months in, I'd say that we're working together a lot better than we were when I first got her. Just because it was such a new partnership, we still had to, you know, get to know each other. And even now, six months in, we still don't know each other, you know? But when I look back and I'm like, Oh, all the things that I used to fuss about, all the things I used to complain about, you know, with her. Not, essentially not listening to me or like, getting distracted and stuff like that, you know - because at the end of the day, she's still a dog. You know, it's up to me, the handler, to say, No, come on, let's go straight on. You're working, you know, keep her, you know, keep her in check, you know?
But now that I look back, I'm, like, getting to a destination has become a lot easier because she's not getting as distracted as much. She's also a lot happier to work now because I think now she's settled into her work, you know, and she's settled into the routine of things she settled into, OK, this is why I'm here in Perth. I'm here to guide Thayana. And, you know, we're now starting to understand each other. And this is what she does on a daily basis. This is what is expected of me and things like that. So she's now starting to know what is expected of her.
11:56 S1
And six months is such a fresh amount of time, especially if both of you, you know, yeah, neither of you've done it before. It's not like it's her second handler or your second dog.
12:07 S2
Yeah.
12:09 S1
So are there any particular favorite outings that you've done in your time together?
12:14 S2
I wouldn't say the particular favorite outings, but I'll say the outings that I enjoy doing with Shaylah are the ones that it's only her and I. For example, yesterday we went to Royal Perth Hospital and that's a journey that I had never done with her, and it's a journey that I did it many years ago, so I didn't really remember how to get there. And it was a challenge for us both. And that's what we we both of us enjoy. So yeah, we did that out that route. We did that journey and we're alive now. We're alive to tell the story - you know, although we did ask for help in the city, like from... the general public, we did ask for help. We made it, you know, and also things like going to the shopping centre and being able to get to to new shops that we didn't do in our training, you know, but just challenging ourselves to to find a new shop.
I'd say there isn't one particular favorite outing that we've done together, but I'll say it's just just being out and about, just the two of us and, you know, challenging ourselves to get to... places without training, without having someone with us.
13:32 S1
Are there any particular kind of plants that you do have in terms of, you know, now that you've been together for a little bit longer and are... feeling more confident in your partnership, you know, do you have any kind of things that you were thinking? This is what I'm looking forward to, and this is what I'm going to do.
13:47 S2
I want to travel. I want to travel with Shaylah. I want to, you know, I well, obviously within Australia first. And then if we manage within Australia, then thinking about outside Australia. But yes, for now, I want to travel with Shaylah and seeing how we will manage in... a different environment, in a different city, in a different state. And you know, I think we would be able to do it, you know, but obviously it is going to be a challenge. But yes, I think that's something that I'm excited about.
14:23 S1
I think it's super cool to think about. That's like kind of the, yeah, future planning. It's like, you know, you get kind of your... fun independent stuff in your day-to-day life. And then when you've got that nailed, then you're going to travel Australia. I think that's super cool.
14:39 S2
Yeah, Yeah.
14:41 S1
We kind of have been connected today to talk a little bit about the Petbarn or City Farmer's Appeal, because you're one of the ambassadors for that campaign. Why should people get around the, you know, Petbarn or city farmer's campaign? Excuse my barking dog. That's decided it's dinnertime, apparently.
15:00 S2
I think because obviously it's for a good cause, you know, and it's obviously supporting the lives of these dogs - because it takes a lot of money to train these dogs and, you know, to put them through extensive amount of training and, you know, to be able to get them to a place where they've then graduated and they then go on to change the life of someone living with a vision impairment and/or blindness. Well, Shaylah is my gateway to my freedom and my independence. So having Shaylah has definitely changed my life. So I really encourage people to get to get around this campaign because it's definitely changing the lives of people living with a vision impairment and or blindness.
And, you know, it's also given someone a companion. You know, these dogs are truly man's best friend and they make your life happy. And it's also a conversation starter, you know? And you know, when you go out there with with the dog, people take a liking to the dog. And, you know, some people - actually not all of them, but some people - will come and ask you questions about the dog. And it starts up conversations. I've had heaps of conversations with strangers, at coffee shops, at the shopping centre, in Ubers, just because of Shaylah. So, and those are things that I enjoy, you know, and I take it as opportunities to educate people and, you know, just to raise awareness of seeing eye dogs and, you know, just dog guides in general. But yes, getting around the Petbarn campaign does change the life of someone who's living with a disability.
16:34 S1
And then just to finish off as well, do you have any messages for anyone who is a supporter of seeing eye dogs?
16:41 S2
I want to say thank you for your support. Thank you for your donations. Your donations do go a long way. Like I said previously, your donations are changing the lives of us who are living with a vision impairment and/or blindness. You know, putting a dog in our lives is not just, it's a big deal, you know? And we do recognise that, you know, these things are made possible because of you guys who are donating and who are supporting seeing eye dogs. So thank you very much.
17:10 S1
Well, thank you so much for coming on the show and sharing your story. And it's been really good to meet you.
17:15 S2
Thank you so much, Harriet. It's been good to meet you too.
17:23 S1
You've been listening to the Seeing Eye Dogs Show. Well, that was Thayana Mobila sharing her story and talking about life with Shaylah. I'm now going to be joined by Wurundjeri Woiwurrung elder aunty Julieanne Oxford, who's going to share some information about NAIDOC week and its significance. Without further ado, here's the interview with Aunty Julieanne. Hi Julieanne, thank you for joining me on the show today.
17:44 S4
So, Kate.
17:45 S1
Could you please start by introducing yourself?
17:47 S4
Yeah. So my name is Julieanne Oxford. I'm a Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Elder.
17:53 S1
Could you please tell us a bit about what NAIDOC week means to you?
17:57 S4
It's a week of us, celebrating our culture, the people learning our culture, understanding our culture, and just, you know, for us to go back and think about what our ancestors went through. [?Friction.]
18:13 S1
So the puppy names selected last year, could you please tell us a little bit about those and your grandkids who suggested them? You know, if you know the significance.
18:24 S4
So my two grandkids or... you mean about naming the puppies?
18:27 S3
Yes. Yes.
18:29 S4
Yeah. So, yeah, it's my... two grandkids who are naturally Wurundjeri. Yeah. Came up with the two names.
18:37 S1
So what does it mean to have your language and community represented in names like these?
18:42 S4
I think it's very important to have... representation. It's teaching other people our language. And not only that, it's... we're also learning our language. So I think it's a good education for everyone to be learning Mundari language or Wurrung language, I should say.
19:01 S1
Is there anything else that you think would be good to share in recognition of NAIDOC week?
19:06 S4
I think just mainly talking about the history of what our ancestors went through and just having a celebration for a celebration of our culture and the understanding of our culture.
19:20 S1
And like you said, kind of, you know, you're from Wurundjeri, kind of Woi-wurrung cultures. And there's going to be, you know, thousands of different cultures across Australia. Yeah, wherever you're from. So I guess it's really important for people to do some research about where they are living. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for joining me on the show and chatting a little bit about NAIDOC Week.
19:43 S4
Yep. No, thank you.
19:51 S1
At Seeing Eye Dogs, we're very happy to acknowledge and celebrate NAIDOC week. Now I'm going to play the announcement of the names that Aunty Julieanne's grandkids, Bella and Levi, gave to our two 2023 NAIDOC-named puppies. So here is the name announcement. Thank you for listening. In celebration of NAIDOC week 2023, Vision Australia extended an invitation to clients, families, friends and parts of the community who identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander to submit the name for a seeing eye dog puppy. Four names were chosen that demonstrate a strong connection to country and recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and heritage. This is part of the work that we are doing for our Reconciliation Action Plan reflector app as well. So we'd like to announce those names.
The first, submitted by the Nikeri Institute at Deakin University, is [?now] Nikeri. The name was submitted which stands for the National Indigenous Knowledges Education Research Innovation Institute. The name was submitted by Kim, a senior dog handler who works with [?Cynheidre], who is a lecturer at Deakin University in Indigenous Studies. The next name picked was Maring, submitted by Karlien and Nathalie. The name means eyes in several languages of the Kulin nation. It is a word understood by many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including from those languages of the Taungurung, Woiwurrung and Djadjawurrung cultures. The name is chosen as it reflects to what the pups will be trained to do in the future. It also reflects and strengthens the Inner and Vision Australia partnership.
The next names were submitted by Bella and Levi, who are grandchildren of Aunty Julieanne, an Elder. The names they submitted were Naugawan which means son, and Kirit which means best friend, which has significance as the seeing eye dog and client become lifelong friends. Thank you to all who submitted a name as part of the NAIDOC week celebration, and in recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and First Nations cultures around Australia. These names will be carried on through the puppies' journeys to become seeing eye dogs, and we have high hopes that these guys will bring a wonderful partnership to someone who is blind or has low vision in the future.
Every year we are very lucky to have some really wonderful suggestions for our network names from members of our community who are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. The representation and celebration of their culture is something really important to us at Senado. So so we're really grateful to members of our community like Bella and Levi and Aunty Julieanne for suggesting some really wonderful names that share their heritage and their culture and connection to country with us.
Now, I'm going to be playing the repeat of the announcement for the 2024 network names for this year, and I hope you enjoy. I'm proud to announce the selected names for puppies recognising Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander culture as part of our Network Week 2024 celebrations. The acronym NAIDOC stands for National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee. The theme for NAIDOC week this year is Keep the Fire Burning Black, Loud and Proud. NAIDOC this year turns 50 and this theme celebrates the unyielding spirit of our indigenous communities and celebrates one of the oldest continuing living cultures on Earth.
National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia in the first week of July each year, observed this year from the 7th to the 14th of July 2024. To celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The selected names from our NAIDOC Week puppies this year come from the Yorta Yorta Nations and have been submitted by a member of our community, considering their culture and the themes of NAIDOC week. Stay tuned to our Facebook and our Instagram pages for photos of these puppies, who we do hope will do these meaningful names proud.
The selected names are [?Bicha], meaning fire, which is chosen as it aligns with this year's theme, and Gwalla, which means kind - to signify our need for more kindness in the world. These names were considered to be meaningful submissions by our panel, and that they demonstrate a strong connection to country and recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and heritage. Newly named Bicha and Gwalla are young puppies currently living in a puppy centre. They will soon go off to carer homes and commence their puppy development journey with volunteer carers. We'd like to thank all those who've submitted a name and shared their culture with our team.
You've been listening to the Seeing Eye Dogs Show on Vision Australia Radio. I hope you enjoyed my interviews with Thayana Mubila about her life and partnership with seeing eye dog Shayla, and with Auntie Julieanne Axford about NAIDOC week and the names chosen. If you'd like to find out more about Seeing Eye Dogs, the work we do, or how you can help, please head to our website at SED@visionaustralia.org ... If you're blind or have low vision and would like to find out about getting a seeing eye dog or about doggie mobility, head to that website, SED at Vision ASustralia dot org. The number again is 1800 037 773. Or you can email us at info@sed.... [?].
Did you know that it costs $50,000 to train up a single seeing eye dog puppy this year? Petbarn Foundation's aim is to raise one million dollars in donations to help train up 20 puppies. Since the appeal in 2024 began, the Petbarn Foundation and the general public have donated $7 million to help train up around 152 seeing eye dog puppies through donations at this appeal. This year our partner Royal Canon even donated $50,000 to fund the first single puppy for our 2024 appeal to support the Petbarn Foundation annual Seeing Dogs Appeal for 2024. Head to petbarn.com.au forward slash seeing eye dogs or make a donation in-store at a Petbarn or City Farmers store. The Petbarn Foundation campaign ends on August 5th.
For more of this show and other great Vision Australia Radio podcasts, head to our Omny FM page or your preferred podcast platform. Thank you for listening and have a lovely week.
